Is speaking in tongues for us today? Part IV

Tuesday

Jun 18, 2013 at 3:13 AM

Continuing our lesson on is speaking in tongues for us today and tongues as the initial evidence of our receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Another reason why God would choose other tongues as the initial sign of our receiving the Spirit is because speaking in tongues is a uniform evidence. It applies to everyone, regardless of race, culture, or language.

In speaking about the birth of the Spirit, Jesus emphasized the uniformity of the experience: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

Moreover, Jesus placed emphasis upon the accompanying sound, not on sight or feeling. The sound of the wind blowing is evidence of its presence.

Some people conclude that Jesus referred only to "the sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind" on the Day of Pentecost. But this sound of wind is never mentioned again in the later accounts of receiving the Holy Ghost, while speaking in tongues is.

Speaking in tongues by itself caused the Jewish Christians to recognize that the experience of the Gentiles at Caesarea was identical to theirs on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 10:44-47; 11:15-17).

Hence, the important, conclusive evidence of the Spirit’s manifestation at Pentecost was speaking in other tongues. The sound of wind was impersonal, but the speaking was personal. Speaking in tongues was the first evidence of each individual infilling.

At Caesarea all who heard the Word were filled, and all who heard the Word spoke in tongues.

If some of them had not spoken in tongues, would the Jewish Christians have accepted their experiences? Clearly not.

All 12 men mentioned in Acts 19:6 had a uniform experience. If 10 of the 12 had spoken in tongues and the other two had not, would Paul have believed that the two had received the Holy Ghost just as the 10? Certainly not.

Paul would not have accepted their experience if they have failed to exhibit the uniform evidence. Speaking in tongues symbolizes God’s complete control of the believer.

Perhaps this is one of the strongest reasons why God chose speaking in tongues as the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

This symbolism becomes apparent when we study James 3, which provides more information on the tongue than any other chapter in the New Testament.

The tongue is capable of defiling the whole body. If so, is it incredible to claim that the tongue is also capable of symbolizing the sanctification of the whole body?

Portions of the information contained in this article was taken from the Word Aflame Tract "Why did God choose tongues" No. 6108 with express permission from its author.

Join us each Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Coronado Center Auditorium as we lift up the wonderful name of Jesus. If you or someone you know would like to know more about speaking in tongues, contact us at 984-0226 or visit upcofhsv.com.

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